Writers

Hurricanes left with no room to move

Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd was uncertain whether the pending players' ban was a factor in the side's loss to the Sharks in Durban last weekend.

He said so far as he was concerned the team had trained well in the lead-up to the game.

As a result Julian and Ardie Savea, Cory Jane, Victor Vito and Chris Eves will miss Saturday's game against the Reds at Westpac Stadium.

The suspension leaves the Hurricanes vulnerable to a Reds side motivated to celebrate lock Rob Simmons' 100th cap for the side and to build on their draw with the Blues and win over the Highlanders earlier in the campaign.

"The Reds are a way better side than their results," Boyd said.

"We've done quite a bit of analysis on them this week, they've got a seriously good loose forward trio, their scrum is particularly good and their lineout is very good, they're a tough opponent even at full strength," he said.

However, the players' breach was of a curfew imposed by the players on the side's way to Africa and it was a line in the sand which couldn't be undone.

Boyd said curfews were not usually the sort of thing the side had, but it was decided by the players in Sydney, en route to South Africa, to have a curfew in order to have a good tour, Boyd said.

On the Tuesday night before the side's day off in Durban, the five players 'marginally' missed the curfew. Boyd said once that occurred they were bound by the team protocols that they miss a game.

He said it was a 'one out of 10 offence, but a 10 out 10 punishment'. He wouldn't say how much they missed the curfew by, but he was disappointed that in spite of being warned of the distractions in Durban the players had still transgressed. He added that the incident was not alcohol related.

Boyd said it hadn't been possible to impose the ban against the Sharks because the Hurricanes would have been reduced to a match 22, instead of 23. He added that he didn't know about the incident until the Thursday.

One of the beneficiaries of the ban is wing Wes Goosen, a former New Zealand Secondary Schools representative. It was a great opportunity for him. He was a Wellington College boy who had done very well over the last few years and shown good club form and it had given him a chance to have a go.

"He's a great talent and it is a great chance to give him an opportunity to play. He's been knocking on the door since the pre-season and now he gets his chance. That's what Super Rugby is all about," Boyd said.

"The Reds are a way better side than their results. We've done quite a bit of analysis on them this week, they've got a seriously good loose forward trio, their scrum is particularly good and their lineout is very good, they're a tough opponent even at full strength," he said.